Opinion
Education Letter to the Editor

Source of Research Vital to Assessing Fordham Report

November 13, 2007 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

I began reading your article “Report Pans How States Set the Bar” (Oct. 10, 2007) with interest, as I agreed with the premise of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation’s report “The Proficiency Illusion” that the differing measurements by which states determine proficiency under the federal No Child Left Behind Act are an important variable that many seem to ignore. But when I discovered that the Northwest Evaluation Association, the organization responsible for the research for the report, used its computerized assessment, the Measures of Academic Progress, as a basis for comparison between state tests, my interest in the study and the article ended.

The presupposition that this test compares with many state tests is absurd. The students in my school take both the MAP and the MCAS, the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests, and all one has to do is take a look at a few of the sample questions for each to understand there is very little correlation between the two.

The evidence from the study would appear, then, to be fundamentally flawed. Not acknowledging the source of the research earlier in the article is a mistake I would hope would be avoided in the future.

Putnam Goodwin-Boyd

Florence, Mass.

Related Tags:
Opinion

A version of this article appeared in the November 14, 2007 edition of Education Week

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reflections on Evidence-Based Grading Practices: What We Learned for Next Year
Get real insights on evidence-based grading from K-12 leaders.
Content provided by Otus
Classroom Technology K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.
Mathematics Webinar How to Build Students’ Confidence in Math
Learn practical tips to build confident mathematicians in our webinar.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: April 16, 2025
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Quiz ICYMI: Do You Know What 'High-Quality Curriculum' Really Means?
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Image of curricula.
iStock/Getty
Education Quiz ICYMI: Lawsuits Over Trump's Education Policies And More
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Image of money symbol, books, gavel, and scale of justice.
DigitalVision Vectors
Education Quiz ICYMI: Trump Moves to Shift Special Ed Oversight And More
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
President Donald Trump signs an executive order on TikTok in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump signs an executive order on TikTok in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington.
Evan Vucci/AP